Thursday, July 30, 2015

Resting the Body

 Enjoying the beauty of Banff Canada 

After my last competition, I decided to take time off from training and rest my body about four to six weeks. When you are an athlete, it is important to have down time, hard training time, maintenance and everything in between. It is important to listen to the body.

There are the days you have that you are tired and do not feel like working out. If this is a one time, occasional thing, no big deal. Pushing through can turn into some of your best workouts. If it is just a day you are unmotivated, pushing through and digging deep is a good thing. However, if it is happening more and more frequently, you are tired, no motivation, muscles are sore, you just do not have it in you to get through the workout, no interest in working out, some evaluation is in order. The body is giving you all these symptots for a reason, not just to make you crazy.
It could be just over worked, need more sleep, the body is not being nourished.
It could be going further, you might be over trained
You could be in adrenal fatigue, exhaustion or burnout.
There is a reason your body is tired and unmotivated, listen instead of pushing through when these signs are persistent.

I am beginning to slowly add training back into my routine and feeling great. My workouts are stronger, my body feels better and is responding perfectly to my training. All a good thing with prepping for my next competition in October.

Do not be afraid to listen to your body and take a break. It could be the best thing you do for your body. Remember, exercise is stressful to the body. If you exercise too much and put your body into a stress response, you risk gaining weight, and putting the body at risk for a host of problems due to stress hormones. Be mindful. Respect your body. Enjoy life!


Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.
God bless,
Jenn